Thursday, August 2, 2012

I’ve gotten a lot of shortbread requests, but haven’t done a
video for it yet, since I’m not a huge fan of that particular cookie in its
classic form. However, I love those little bars you see in the pastry case at
the coffee shop, which feature a slightly moister shortbread base, topped with
some kind of seasonal fruit.

I always wondered how they were made, and then I saw this
peach shortbread post on Smitten Kitchen, which looked just like the
aforementioned bars. So, I adapted that recipe, losing the egg white and
switching out peaches for the very user-friendly blueberries. Besides, by
adding fruit and calling them “bars,” we have something that sounds so much
healthier than “cookies.”

There are no special skills required here, but you really
want to get your hands on a wire pastry cutter, literally. Sure, you can dirty
your food processor, but a pastry cutter will do the job quickly and easily,
and you can really feel and see what’s happening in the bowl. Of course, if
you’re not doing the dishes, go ahead and use the machine.

As I say in the video, any summer fruit will work, as long
as you don’t use too much, and it’s not too wet. You need to have room for the
crumbs on top to nestle down around the fruit to hold everything together.
Also, if you roll with a particularly large entourage, you can easily double
this recipe for a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. I hope you give this a try soon.
Enjoy!

I've made the Smitten Kitchen/Brown Eyed Baker versions with peaches many times. I made your blueberry version this morning. It was a HUGE hit with both the parents and kids at our play group! I should have doubled the recipe. I'll be sending them all a link.. The Chinese 5 Spice really adds something special. I was so glad I bought some last time I ordered from Penzeys. I've never used it before and was glad to have an excuse. The only thing I did differently was cut in the butter and egg with a food processor to spare my injured wrist. Worked beautifully!

Hi Chef! Nice treat! This is close to how I make raspberry jam bars.Will try this for sure and see how the egg yolk works - thats new to me. TIP for you--after freezing your butter run it thru a box grater. Does very well for biscuits and shortbread and less cutting in is needed to get a good crumble and flakey cookie. Enjoy!

I JUST took this out of my oven. I made it with fresh peaches since I find it very hard to find tasty blueberries where I'm located. My whole appartment smells of five spice. Can't wait for it to be cool enough to cut!

John, how could I modify this to use frozen blueberries? Fresh blueberries are around $18/lb here in South Korea, but I can get 1KG of frozen ones for about $10. I've used them in blueberry muffins without issue, but I know this kind of crumbly pastry is very sensitive to moisture..

You don't have to use fresh blueberries if you can't get them. Use whatever fresh fruits you have locally. But I doubt frozen fruits will be good for this recipe as Chef John mentioned previously as it'll be too wet.

I've made this several times now and they're always a big hit! I've been looking for a good shortbread recipe as I love them and finally found yours that combine two of my favs: fruits and shortbread. Thanks Chef John!

Wonderful! I used Maninis GLUTEN FREE all-purpose flour and it turned out perfect. I also used FROZEN blackberries we had picked last year and it wasn't soggy, but I didn't give them barely a moment to defrost and release their juices, similar to baking a pie with frozen fruit, work that part quickly! and Chef John, your tip about freezing the chopped butter is fantastic! Thank you. ~Michelle

Although I had a hard time cutting the whole piece into smaller ones, even after cooling at room temp over night. I was kind of hard and pieces broke off a bit. Any suggestions? Or maybe I baked it for too long, or something wrong when I made it?

Although I had a hard time cutting the whole piece into smaller ones, even after cooling at room temp over night. I was kind of hard and pieces broke off a bit. Any suggestions? Or maybe I baked it for too long, or something wrong when I made it?

I just made this and boy, it's delicious! I do have one question tho.... My berries did not "split/spill/melt" like yours. I kept it in the oven for a bit longer, thinking that would do the trick, but it made no difference. Like I said, it's still delicious. Just don't know why my blueberries didn't split. Granted, I did modify the recipe.... and used Sugar blend instead of plain sugar, so overall I only used 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 a cup of sugar.

Do you think it was the sugar that prevented the berries from "popping" properly?

Thanks again for all your awesome videos! It's made me cook more frequently because you've made it seem so much easier to do!

I made these the exact way as the video said and they were good. But the next time around I changed it up a bit. I added a few drops of vanilla to the ice water ( I needed about a tablespoon of water). I added a tablespoon of brown sugar to the remaining mixture ( that goes on top of the berries ) Became like a proper crumb topping. I also did a mix of blueberries ans blackberries. Was delish. Better than the original IMO. Thanks chef John. Love your recipes!